


Huff and Puff!

by stardots



Series: Gotta Catch 'Em All [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adventure, Friendship, Gen, alternative universe - pokemon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 05:50:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14037537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardots/pseuds/stardots
Summary: Donghyuck decides diving head first into a Pokémon nest is a good way to figure out how they communicate, Mark disagrees.





	Huff and Puff!

**Author's Note:**

> Episode 3 is out!! 
> 
> This is coined 'the poochyena incident' by me and Mishel and it's important to the timeline (it's not lmao it's just mark & hyuck being Double Trouble but what's new).
> 
> If you haven't read the previous episodes yet, please make sure you do that!

“Ugh!” Donghyuck groans.

“Yeah.” Mark agrees.

They stretch and take deep breaths like they have recently come out of a long hike through Mt. Chimney, even if they were simply leaving a Pokémon Center. That’s just the effect Professor Doyoung has on people. They have literally only been on their journey for a  _ week,  _ yet the professor called them while they were waiting for their Pokémon to be treated by Nurse Joy, asking them about the Pokédex. Apparently, the five Caterpies Mark had caught wasn’t enough (“You only need to catch  _ one _ ”), and neither were they successful in bringing him good information about “communication”.

Being very passionate about his research subject, he started going off about exactly  _ what  _ he was studying again, and Mark and Donghyuck realized they should’ve just heard him out before leaving the lab so they would’ve ripped the band-aid off straight away, so to speak. The other trainers at the center had been awed at seeing the Actual Pokémon Professor on the screen, gathering around to listen, and the duo couldn’t end the call and leave immediately like they had planned when the professor first started blabbering. 

Thankfully, Nurse Joy came to the rescue in the form of a human Escape Rope, telling them their Pokémon were fully healed. 

“I literally caught five Caterpies…” Mark sulks, looking back at the Poké Center where he left them in a PC Box for storage. Bugs freak Mark out, he can’t possibly train one, no matter how much Donghyuck begs him to (“Catch one yourself!” “I don’t want a Metapod, Harden isn’t a good contest move.”). 

“Well, if catching Pokémon isn’t the only thing he wants us to do, I guess we should just find some Pokémon and observe.” Donghyuck suggests, Froakie making a noise of agreement. 

Mark hums. “I only have like one Poké Ball left anyways, it’s the only thing we can do.” He kicks a pebble absentmindedly, which flies pretty far ahead. Growlithe darts in front of them, picking the rock up in its mouth and running back to Mark with it. “We can also tell the professor Growlithe is a huge fan of fetch, that’s part of the whole communication thing, right?”

Donghyuck simply snorts. “That’s gonna make the professor go down on all fours and play fetch too, probably.”

And off they go, into the forest, ready to (cause trouble) continue their adventure.

—

The woods in the Western part of the region are way denser than the ones towards the Central part, which gives space more rock formations and small caves in between trunks and bushes. The Pokémon are also different, due to the climate being less humid and slightly cooler in the west. 

The trainers are pretty much equally as reckless everywhere, though, Jaehyun recons.

“Here’s your Rattata, did you have any more hurt Pokémon?” The ranger asks, handing over the now healed Pokémon back to its owner. There’s been a lot of trainers Jaehyun had needed to help throughout the day, the nearest Pokémon Center not exactly  _ close  _ to his current location. Thankfully, he packed a lot of Potions and Revives. 

“Yeah, my other Rattata!” The boy replies almost proudly, and Jaehyun suddenly remembers that some Youngsters’ theme is to Only Catch Rattatas. 

The Pokémon gets released from its ball, just as hurt as the previous one, and there must be some previously-owned-by-a-trainer Pokémon out in the wild wrecking havoc, considering the other hurt Pokémon he had healed earlier. Jaehyun will have to locate it, and move it to a better place where other strong Pokémon are, to maintain balance. 

The trainer speaks up, breaking the ranger out of his thoughts. “I wish you could’ve seen him, he was so cool!” There’s stars in his eyes, and there must be a really rare Pokémon, if  _ this _ guy is so excited about it. “He was super strong, and his Skarmory didn’t even take any damage!” Jaehyun doesn’t have the heart to tell him Normal-types aren’t very effective against Steel-types. And oh, it was a trainer behind it all.

“So, this happened due to a battle?” 

The trainer nods, just as excited, even if his Pokémon have been badly hurt. “He had the aura of a champion, but he’s only an Ace Trainer!” 

“An Ace Trainer in these areas? That’s interesting.” The Rattata got its final spray of regular Potion, and Jaehyun discards the empty flask into a plastic bag so he could recycle it later. He smiles at the other. “Don’t go recklessly challenging him again. Train your Pokémon some more, so the battle will be more fun for the both of you.”

“I will, thank you!” 

Behind a tree stands another trainer, listening in on the conversation, a grin on his face.

“Do you hear that, Chimchar? A strong opponent.” Chimchar jumps around in excitement, laughing, just as hyped as its owner. The trainer spins a Poké Ball on his finger cooly. “I agree, let’s find him and challenge him!”

— 

Mark doesn’t like when Donghyuck’s quiet. Donghyuck’s never quiet, so when he doesn’t speak at all, it’s never because of something particularly  _ good.  _ Last time Mark checked, Donghyuck wasn’t having a bad day. It doesn’t help that Froakie looks just as suspicious, chilling on Donghyuck’s head and grinning mischievously. 

“Donghyuck—”

“This is what we should do,” Donghyuck interrupts, eyes set on a Pokémon a few feet ahead. “We follow that Poochyena that’s been walking in front of us for a good ten minutes, and we’ll definitely see some communication soon.” 

“That sounds like a horrible—”

“ — great idea!” Donghyuck interrupts again, and Mark groans. He should’ve left on his own journey a year ago, not waited for Donghyuck. At the same time, Mark probably wouldn’t have survived without the other. Donghyuck knows how to cook, Mark doesn’t.

In the bitter end, they follow Poochyena at Donghyuck’s orders, observing. It stops to snack on a few Oran Berries, then continues its stroll. A Bidoof runs away when Poochyena barks at it, making the canine Pokémon snicker as it goes deeper into the forest. Mark thinks it reminds him of Donghyuck, a little.

Mark leans towards his friend, whispering. “I don’t like this, we’re going in pretty far.” 

“Nonsense!” Donghyuck waves, Froakie snickering. Growlithe shares Mark’s sentiment, though, making sure it’s walking between the two humans. “Look look, it’s heading through those bushes!”

And it did, Mark and Donghyuck hot on its heels. They don’t rush over the greenery like hooligans, but halt when they see exactly  _ where  _ the Poochyena had gone. 

“Holy Quagsire.” Donghyuck gasps. “I think we just hit jackpot at the Game Corner, Markie!”

Mark shakes his head furiously. “No. No, no and  _ no. _ ” 

In front of them, a whole pack of Mightyenas and Poochyenas rests, some playing around, some eating. The Mightyenas who seems to be partners rubs their snouts together, while the cubs headbutts each other, trying to establish faux dominance. Mark’s sure these Pokémon are just a bunch of Donghyuck clones at this point.

“Let’s go!” Donghyuck steps through the bushes. In Mark’s desperate attempt to grab him and pull him back, he falls down, both of them and Froakie tumbling down into the nest. Growlithe whimpers as it’s left standing to the side, the noises it makes quickly droned out by collective angry growling.

Donghyuck stares at Mark with wide eyes, and Mark realizes they’ll soon find out what Pokémon feel when they faint. They quickly stand up, trying to look as non-threatening as they possibly can, holding their arms out.

“T-there, there… good Yena… good boy…” Mark stutters, slowly reaching out to the Mightyena closest to him. It seems to accept it at first, but before he touches it, Mightyena snaps its fangs and almost gets his hand. “Not a boy!” Mark yells, and Donghyuck has the audacity to  _ snort  _ in their current situation.

The Pokémon circles them, coming nearer and nearer, teeth and claws ready for the pounce that’s about to happen. Growlithe tries to signalize something, but it only ends up pulling the trigger, one of the Mightyenas jumping forward.

“Froakie, use Pound—”

“What’s going on here!?”

By some sort of magic, almost like Stun Spore, or possibly some half-effective Sleeping Powder, the Pokémon step down, tails wagging… excitedly? They run past the duo, who turn around to see exactly  _ what  _ had tamed the Pokémon so quickly.

They’re met with the sight of a Pokémon Ranger, arms filled with various berries he feeds the Pokémon while grinning contently. They seem to be grinning back at him, miraculously turning into cute and adorable Fairy-types on the spot. When the ranger looks up from his Pokémon friends to take in Mark and Donghyuck, his face turns into a glare. The expression soon goes back to sunny and cheery while he gives out the rest of the berries, and then he gestures for the two to follow him once the Mightyenas calms down, making it possible to escape.

The ranger halts when they’re quite a bit away from the nest, face set in stone again. “I’m Jaehyun, a Pokémon Ranger.”

“I’m Mark, this is Donghyuck.” Mark unhelpfully says, mostly because he’s so nervous he’s shaking, and Donghyuck steps on his foot in a he’s-talking-we-should-not-say-anything-unless-spoken-to way.

“Mark, Donghyuck.” He nods towards both of them politely. “Are you aware you have been caught breaking conduct in Pokémon habitat?” 

“We are collecting Pokémon to fill Professor Doyoung’s Pokédex.” Donghyuck supplies, matter-of-factly. “And he also asked us to observe and note down how Pokémon communicate, alas, this.” 

“Doesn’t mean you go sneaking into a Poochyena and Mightyena nest.” Jaehyun reprimands, arms crossed. “Unless you’re catching a Pokémon, invading their resting places is far from what’s expected from trainers of good nature. I could call Officer Jenny on you.” 

Mark flinches, and Donghyuck sputters. “Please don’t do that!” Mark folds his hands like he’s praying to Jaehyun, not wanting his journey to end before it’s even started thanks to Donghyuck’s stupid idea. “We didn’t know, we’re sorry!” Mark nudges Donghyuck harshly, who kicks Mark’s shin in retaliation before bowing his head.

“Yes, we’re sorry. Won’t do it again.” Donghyuck’s apology doesn’t sound convincing  _ at all,  _ but the ranger took the bait. Donghyuck will totally do something like that again, Mark was sure of it.

Jaehyun smiles. “Very well!” He takes out a notepad and a pen, scribbling something on it, smile widening even more. “I’m letting you off the hook, but since you’re fresh trainers, I need you to visit the trainer school in the city just north from here. It’s maybe two days away, and you’ll learn a lot there.” He hands over the piece of paper he had written the directions on, a small warning signed off with a smiley face at the bottom of it.

Donghyuck sputters again. Mark straightens his back, doing a salute while Growlithe copies him. “We will, sir!”

“Please, no need for formalities.” The ranger takes a Poké Ball from his belt, releasing the Charizard that was resting in it. They do a greeting, to which Donghyuck asks why their mushing their faces together, before Jaehyun jumps onto its back. “Good luck on your journey, and also, there’s a strong trainer roaming these areas. Be careful with challenges until you know you’re close to a Pokémon Center.”

Before taking off, Jaehyun throws Mark and Donghyuck a couple of Potions each.

“Well.” Mark says.

“ _ Well. _ ” Donghyuck parrots. “I guess we have to report back to the professor about the Yenas’ habits.” 

Gasping, Mark turns off his own Pokétech, gettin ready to remove his batteries. “Not it!” He’s not calling the professor this time, not today.

“That’s cheating, you absolute—” Donghyuck lunges at him, stopping him from removing the batteries and trying to turn Mark’s Pokétech back on to call Professor Doyoung with.

At least they finally got their first Potions.

—

“What is he doing?” Johnny asks, staring at Doyoung who’s on all fours, a rolled t-shirt tucked into his pants like a tail that moves when he wiggles his butt. He arrived at the Day-Care just a few hours ago, but he’s already on some weird shit for “research purposes”.

Kun shrugs. “Communicating, I guess.”

The professor tries to eskimo kiss a Mightyena he’s been growling at for the past twenty minutes, and it seems to go well, until Mightyena nips at his nose, obviously not happy. 

Doyoung screams.


End file.
